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How to Build and Publish Your Author Site

Your author site is a public page of your own: your name, your books, a short bio, where readers can follow you, and posts you write for them. You build it inside WriteinaClick and publish it when it is ready. Nobody else can see it until you do.

The site belongs to you, not to any one book, so you can open it even when no book is open.

Open your author site​

Click Author site in the top navigation bar. On a narrower window, open the menu beside Book settings and choose Author site.

Claim your address​

The first time you open it, you see Claim your address.

  1. Under Your address, type the address you want, for example jane-smith. Addresses use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, are 3 to 32 characters long, and cannot start or end with a hyphen. The page tells you That one is free. when nobody has it.
  2. Under The name to show at the top, type the name readers should see. You can change this whenever you like.
  3. Check the full address shown under Your address will be.
  4. Click Claim this address, read the note, and click Yes, claim it permanently. Click Go back if you want to think again.
The address is permanent

Once you claim an address, it cannot be changed or given up, and it is never issued to anyone else. That is what makes it safe to print on a business card or at the end of a book. The name shown at the top of your site stays editable.

Build the site​

After you claim an address, the page shows one card per part of your site. Changes save as you go; a save status appears beside the badge at the top of the page. The badge reads Not published yet until you publish.

Your address​

Shows your permanent address. Click Copy to copy it. Once the site is live, click View my site to open it in a new tab.

How your name reads​

  • Name shown at the top
  • Short bio
  • Longer bio

How it looks​

Pick the style that suits your books: Literary, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy and sci-fi, or Nonfiction and speaker. Every style is free, and you can change it any time. Click See live example on a style to see a finished site in that style.

Media kit​

Upload a headshot with Upload a photo (or Replace photo / Remove photo later), and add your YouTube channel and Podcast RSS if you have them. Journalists, podcasters and event organisers can find what they need without emailing you.

Site icon (favicon)​

The small picture in a reader's browser tab and bookmarks. Click Upload an icon. Simple shapes read best at this size; your initial or your lead cover both work well.

Add the places readers can follow you: Website, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Goodreads and Amazon author page. Leave any you do not use empty and it will not show.

Books on your site​

  1. Click Add a book and pick a book from the list.
  2. Write a Blurb: one or two sentences. This is what people see when your link is shared.
  3. Optionally add a short Excerpt.
  4. Use Remove from site to take a book off again.

A book needs a cover to look its best. If it has none, the card says No cover yet; add one in Book settings.

Keep excerpts short

Publishing a long sample can affect first publication rights, and some exclusive ebook agreements allow only a small share of a book to appear elsewhere. The excerpt is capped for you.

You can also add a book from its Publish page: in the Share your book card, tick Show this book on my author site. See Publish.

Writing on your site​

Posts are for news, notes from your writing life, or a chapter teaser.

  1. Click Write a post.
  2. Enter a Title and write the Post.
  3. Click Publish to put it on your site, or Save draft to keep it private.

Drafts stay private until you publish them. Each post in the list shows Published or Draft, with Edit, View, and Publish / Unpublish buttons.

Preview​

The Preview card shows your site as readers will see it. It redraws after each saved change; click Refresh to redraw it yourself. Until you publish, only you can see it.

Publish your site​

In the last card, click Publish my site. To publish, your site needs a name, and at least one book with a cover and a blurb, because those are what people see when the link is shared. If something is missing, the page tells you what.

Once published, the badge reads Live and anyone with the address can read the site.

To take it offline, click Take my site down. Your address stays yours: click Publish again to bring the site back at the same address.

See also: Publish | Book Settings